I am wondering what the consequences are of connecting one end od a sloper high on a telephone/electric pole right ouside of my house. The pole gets up about 2 1/2 stories and I could runa it off toward the back of my property. It would be hard to see it and probably work well. I would of course insulate it from the wood pole with several feet of dacron but it would be more practical and more transparent that a yagi or other antenna and it wwouldn't cast an arm and a leg. No tower to buy...I have an antenna tuner - MFJ 969 Versa tuner II. Any thoughts from those who have done this?

1. Make sure you own the pole, or have a friendly and understanding utility company who does.

2. If the pole supports any primary electrical service (the 7200V stuff), I'd pass on this. But if it's supporting only secondary (240v) service, or better still, no electrical service at all and only telephone/cable TV wiring or other low voltage stuff, then it's very safe -- but may cause interference when you transmit!

3. You'd need to install a "full sloper" (as opposed to a "half sloper"), which means the feedline would come to the center of the sloping dipole in order to make this work. If you can work that out and nobody minds, abiding by the guidelines in (1) and (2) above, I'd give it a shot.

[This varies a lot with location, but around here (where I live in L.A.), the local utility poles are actually owned by the telephone company, who is currently SBC. They don't give much of a darn what anybody does with regard to tying strings and ropes to their poles, and lots of people do this. Of course, if you do so and they have to climb the pole for some reason, they may very well "cut" whatever you've attached, so be prepared for that. The best situation would be if you owned the pole, yourself. Then I can't see how anyone could stop you from doing whatever you wish with it, once it's up.]

I am almost positive it is the power company's pole however it is about an acre off of the main road on to my property. It has a mercury lamp on it which I thought I could tie too. I also though about screwing a pully into the pole so I can raise and lower the antenna to service it and the connection. Howevwer there will be electric lines that head off in the opposite direction.(RF??)

I assume I would use a so239 connector to connect the line to the antenna..how do you protect the connection from the weather?

I am still undecided as to how I am going to run my coax...thinking about running coax thru the house to a service box, put in spark arrestors, then keep running to the masts/sloper.

>RE: Thinking about puttin in a sloper... Reply by KF4KLZ on October 24, 2005 Mail this to a friend! I am almost positive it is the power company's pole however it is about an acre off of the main road on to my property. It has a mercury lamp on it which I thought I could tie too. I also though about screwing a pully into the pole so I can raise and lower the antenna to service it and the connection. Howevwer there will be electric lines that head off in the opposite direction.(RF??)<

::Sean, first of all congrats on wanting to do all this stuff yourself, but let me warn you: The internet is full of good ideas and bad ideas and it's impossible to tell the difference if you don't know in advance what to look for. It sounds to me like you'd be better off finding a local "Elmer" to help you with some of this. Join a local radio club or something, find some old-time hams in the area and ask them for a hand. Way better than "internet advice."

::In any case, I'd ask the utility company if this is okay prior to doing anything, *UNLESS* you see that everybody in your area is using utility poles for other stuff like supporting clotheslines or whatever. If it seems to be commonly accepted that the local folks use these poles for their own convenience and nobody seems to care, you probably can, too. But always be very careful, and be prepared that the utility company can easily come along and remove whatever you've installed. If they own the pole, that's up to them. And always stay away from primary wiring (the high voltage wiring that powers the pole transformers). If the pole you're thinking about has a transformer on it (I hope not), I wouldn't use that one.

>I assume I would use a so239 connector to connect the line to the antenna..how do you protect the connection from the weather?<

::Use a drip loop below the antenna connection, make sure the connection is mechanically strong and solid, then use vinyl tape (3M/Scotch 88 or equivalent) wrapped around the connector and an inch or two down the coax. You can use other stuff, too. There's "Coax Seal," which is like putty formed as a tape, it comes on rolls. Some hams even use beeswax (don't laugh, it works well and is very waterproof). Not critical, just use something that you think will work and it probably will.

>I am still undecided as to how I am going to run my coax...thinking about running coax thru the house to a service box, put in spark arrestors, then keep running to the masts/sloper.<

::Sounds like a good idea. If you install your own "antenna service panel" as you describe, the common for the lightning arrestors and coax shields should be very well grounded by a short and direct connection to an 8' ground rod, and then should also be tied by #8 copper or #6 aluminum wire to the ground connection of your electric service panel. If you're in a lightning prone area, you might want to include an easy way to disconnect your cables entirely when you think a storm is approaching.

I appreciate all of your help. Yea...I was looking at the pole and it does have a transformer on it...probably best to stay away. I currently have my gear in my detached garage but want to move it in the house. This is why I am asking all of these questions. What I have now is temporary and everything is in the garage. So I am collecting my coax and antennas, etc.

I am getting involved with a club - W4CAR so I hope to gain a lot from them. Thanks again.SeanKF4KLZ

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